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Allowance for jobless, fund for Metro

Mulayam presents populist Budget with 60 sops for various sections; Opposition terms it a `farce'

Lucknow: With an eye on the Assembly elections slated early next year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday presented a deficit Budget in the Assembly, announcing over 60 sops for different sectors.

The Budget for the fiscal 2006-07 has a variety of welfare schemes, including unemployment allowance to jobless graduates and post graduates registered with the employment exchange till December 31, 2005 and provision of Rs 736 crores for extending the Delhi Metro rail project to its industrial township Noida.

The Rs 500 monthly unemployment allowance would be made available from April 1, 2006 to about four lakh youths and the government will have to spend Rs 240 crores under this head in the next financial year.

As expected, the Chief Minister announced no fresh taxes eyeing the coming Assembly polls.

Mr Yadav, addressing a press conference later, said it was a historic Budget and the SP-led coalition Government had fulfilled the promises made in the election manifesto. ``Priority has been given to the development of power, road, drinking water, education and employment,'' he said, adding it was the first time that all the regions were given equal importance.

During his address on the floor of the House, Mr Yadav announced that the State was expected to incur a net deficit of Rs 363.96 crores in the next fiscal. While the proposed revenue is slated at Rs 80,540.47 crores, the proposed expenditure is pegged at Rs 82,849.96 crores.

However, the Opposition BJP members staged a noisy walk-out from the House after the Leader of Opposition Lalji Tandon was denied by the Speaker an opportunity to speak following the tabling of Budget.

For the State employees the government announced an additional instalment of the Dearness Allowance (DA) of four per cent from July 2005 which would be given in cash from April next. The government will have to bear a burden of Rs 600 crores for the additional DA.

The government has decided to increase the number of old age pensioners from 12 lakh to 20 lakh in the next financial year. The exercise would put an additional burden of 360 crores per annum on the State exchequer.

In a similar move, the government also announced to increase from Rs 10,000 to 12,000, the ex-gratia payment to the families living Below Poverty Line in case of the death of their earning member.

Allowance a `farce'

Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh criticised the Budget in general and termed the unemployment allowance a ``farce''.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Tandon said that the claim of the Government to end the revenue deficit was merely a pipe dream without a comprehensive plan. He also lamented the government's failure in explaining the various scandals which have taken place in the present regime.

Expressing similar sentiments, BSP legislature party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said the proposed Unemployment Allowance was a mere eyewash aimed at Assembly elections. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Pramod Tiwari stressed that the government was trying to fool the people by the unemployment allowance. - UNI, PTI

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